Obama on the Emir of Qatar

""Pretty influential guy," Obama said of Emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, noting that he basically owns the Al Jazeera television network. "He is a big booster, big promoter of democracy all throughout the Middle East. Reform, reform, reform -- you're seeing it on Al Jazeera."  But Obama: "Now, he himself is not reforming significantly. There's no big move towards democracy in Qatar. But you know part of the reason is that the per capita income of Qatar is $145,000 a year. That will dampen a lot of conflict."  Having banished the press pool from a q-and-a session with the donors, Obama did not realize he was still speaking on an open mike. Mark Knoller of CBS News recorded his comments." (thanks FLC)